Serious
Sometimes art takes itself too seriously. I think we're in a mode where music is doing just that. And the funny thing is the seriousness is both secular and in worship music. Look at the collage; four of them are Christian artists. Pretty serious ;-)
Art reflects life; always has, always will. So our seriousness bugs me. Don't get me wrong, when serious has a purpose, I get it. But it feels like we're being over-serious because it's in vogue.
When a song protests or decries something wrong, seriousness is appropriate. But one of the reasons I like and play music is because it's fun. You remember fun? It's that emotion that makes your lips widen and your teeth show.
Fun is easily dismissed as pop or unimportant or fluff. I suggest that fun is critical to us as people. Are we ever attracted to people void of fun? I think not. (Unless of course accountants are attracted to other accountants...) So I look to art expectantly, to embrace fun.
Just yesterday I was tweeting with a friend of mine over the artist, Banksy. He suggested that his art comes off as saying something, but isn't really saying something. (
click here to view some Banksy)
After looking over his art I concluded that some of his art was saying something and some of it was funny. Trivial. Humorous. In other words, not saying anything. I concluded I liked that Banksy runs the gamut of light fodder to saying something. Sometimes I'm in the mood for fun and other times I want a message. Seriousness and fun. 'Tis life.
And I mentioned Christian worship music. I get that there are serious themes and anthems. Is there not also unspeakable joy we could sing about? (Caveat: no one smiles more than Chris Tomlin ;-)
It just seems there's a lot of seriousness in the vibe of worship music these days at the exclusion of the joy of God, or at the exclusion that our God is fun as well. Not that I'm trying to bring back "
The Happy Song" (oh dear), but that vibe seems absent.
Maybe I'm just a guy who likes variety. Maybe I look to art to give me a departure from news headlines as well as speak to them.
Maybe we're missing a little of what Bare Naked Ladies and Smash Mouth brought to the table a few years ago. Cee Lo may be trying single-handedly to bring fun back. Even though I dug him more with Gnarles, I respect that the man can sing and has a sense of humor about himself. Perhaps even too much so ;-)
Perhaps I'm tired of artists taking themselves so darned seriously. As a person, as an artist, I love to live in the variety of emotion we've been blessed to experience. As much as I can stew and rant over the worst injustice, I love nothing more than to lmbo.
So, lighten up, everybody ;-)
